Brunelli has been organizing the feast with Frank Fiorillo, Mickey DeGrazia and Thomas Olsen since the beginning. It’s a hectic four days, but the longtime friends look forward to it each year.

The Feast of St. Rocco is a celebration of family and food to benefit St. Mary’s Parish. Some 60,000 people were expected to flock to the four-day festival for the cannolis, meatballs, music and rides, among other draws.

Olsen doesn’t know how much longer he and the others will be at the helm of the festival — or what happens after they’re gone.

"We’ll just have to pray to St. Rocco. He’ll figure it out," he said.

More than likely, the torch will be passed to the younger generation, including Joe Seaver, Brunelli’s grandson, who started volunteering at the festival when he was 10 years old.

Over the years, Seaver, 20, has gotten the preparations down to a science - the tents were set up in early July and the trucks with the food began arriving on Monday.

"On Thursday, we set up all of the tables and started preparing the food," he said.

The festival brings in more than 100 volunteers, most of the them familiar faces like Seaver.

Lisa DeBaggis works at the pastry booth. She said last year her crew filled 5,000 cannolis. "This year we’re going for 5,001," she said.

Tom McGovern hands out buttons to people who donate to the St. Rocco statue. On Saturday morning, he said, about 100 people attended the Mass and Sacrament of the Sick held on the festival grounds. Many prayed for family members or friends.

The closing Mass is this morning at 10:30. From St. Mary’s, the procession will carry a smaller statue of St. Rocco to the festival grounds.

McGovern said the statue will be displayed with a bone fragment from St. Rocco, a relic from Rome verified by the Holy See.

While religion is an important part of the feast, McGovern said many non-Catholics come to the festival as well.

"This is a communal, social event," he said. "People come for the food and entertainment."